Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Bats awaken, Lester cruises Sox past Rays 9-2

Two aces faced off tonight in Jon Lester and David Price. However, it was everything but the anticipated rubber match. Much to the relief of the Red Sox offense, the 2012 Cy Young Award winner struggled mightily tonight.

The third inning was the exact jolt this Red Sox offense lusted. Stephen Drew led things off with a walk, followed by a Jacoby Ellsbury single to center. Then, the Sox offense just continued to chip away at Price by working the count, building his pitch count, and being selective at the plate. It all paid off as Pedroia, Ortiz, Napoli, and Gomes all drove in runs, giving the Sox a 4-0 lead. Price eventually left the game due to what seemed like an injury to his pitching arm, as he continued to flex his fingers. Price may be in a bit of trouble, given his horrid season and this injury.

The third inning continued and the Sox weren't done. They batted around the line-up with Drew coming to the plate again. And what does he do? Clears the bases with a grand slam of course. He's a Drew, what did you expect? 8-0 Sox, just like that. Remarkable inning.

Even Lester had a hiccup in the third inning...just not nearly as big as Price. He allowed two earned runs in the bottom of the inning. Lester's "slip" has to be chalked up to waiting for the Sox offense to stop pounding the Rays, right? The rest of the night, Lester was stronger as the game went on. On 107 pitches, he threw seven innings, allowing eight hits, two earned runs, no walks, and struck out five Rays.

Lester is still undefeated, earning his sixth win of the young season and is tied for second place for wins in the American League. Oh by the way, Clay Buchholz has six wins too. Pretty nice having two aces (so far) atop the rotation, right?

This game could very well launch the Sox out of their slumping ways. It also never hurts your team's confidence to pound a top ace for eight runs on the road.

Felix Doubront takes the mound for the Sox and will counter Rays starter Alex Cobb tomorrow. First pitch is at 7:10pm.

BOXSCORE

Recap: DREWWWWWWWWWW leads Sox past Twins

That wasn't boos in Fenway. That was DREWWWWWWWWW. 

Stephen Drew has his best night in a Red Sox uniform and it was capped off with a wall ball double in the 11th to bring in the winning run and end the three-game losing streak with a 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Drew went 4-for-5 with 3 RBI's. 

All of this could have been avoided had Joel Hanrahan closed out the game. Instead, he gave up a home run to Brian Dozier and screwed it all up. To make matters worse, he couldn't even finish the inning as he appeared to have tweaked his elbow in the following at-bat and had to come out of the game. The bullpen was already depleted thanks to the Texas sweep and this made things a little more difficult.

Thankfully Clayton Mortensen came through huge, picking up where Hanrahan left off and went 2 1/3 innings of shutout ball. Tomorrow's starter Ryan Dempster was actually warming up in the bullpen for a bit just in case Mortensen got in any trouble but thankfully it was not needed. 

In the beginning of the game, all the talk was about Clay Buchholz. He was being watched rather closely by MLB after Toronto's announcers were crying foul over his shiny arm and came out of the gate stumbling. After getting the leadoff hitter to line out to center, Buchholz gave up three straight hits to the heart of the Twins order, which gave the Twins a 2-0 lead. It could have been worse as he also gave up back-to-back walks in the inning, but was able to get a couple strikeouts to get out before any more damage could happen.

Clay continued that groove through the next couple of innings, racking up the strikeouts until the fourth, where back-to-back doubles from Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks would make it a three run Twin lead. They would also tack on another run in the fifth by way of a sac fly to give Buchholz his worst outing this season: four runs over six innings. He did get nine strikeouts though and his ERA is still a ridiculous 1.60 on the year. 

The Sox offense would slowly pick away at the lead, which started with Shane Victorino's first home of the season in the fourth. The Sox would then take on a run in the next three innings to tie it up, with RBI singles from Drew & Mike Napoli and a home run by, you guessed it, Stephen Drew. 

Then in the eighth Pedroia, who hasn't homered since last September 11th, had fouled off six of Anthony Swrzak's pitches before hitting one off of the light tower in the Monster. Pedroia had gone 183 at-bats without a home run before that shot. He finished the night 3-for-4. David Ortiz would follow that up with a double to extend his hitting streak to 26 games. 

After the Sox first big struggle in Texas, seeing this team grind out a win after getting in an early hole is nice to see. It was also great to see them not implode after Hanrahan crapped all over himself. Speaking of Hanrahan, Gordon Edes tweeted that he has right forearm soreness. Let's see if he goes on the disabled list tomorrow. 

Your Morning Dump...where Drew gets called up & Iglesias is sent down

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The Red Sox optioned shortstop Jose Iglesias to Triple-A Pawtucket and activated shortstop Stephen Drew from the disabled list on Tuesday, sources confirmed.

 

Drew had been on the 7-day concussion DL after being hit in the helmet by a pitch on March 7. In four rehab games with Double-A Portland he hit .154, going 2-for-13 with a run scored, a home run in his last game on Monday, three RBI, two walks and three strikeouts.

 

In six games this season Iglesias hit .450, going 9-for-20 with three runs scored, two doubles, an RBI, and three strikeouts. 

CSNNE: Iglesias optioned, Drew activated

The Iglesias era is over for now but at least he made the most out of the opportunity. He's a much improved player at the plate and doesn't look like the player who went 8-for-68 last season. His willingness to bunt to get on base is also a welcome sign. 

Now we get to see what impact Stephen Drew can have on this team. He's got more pop in his bat and is a better fit to drive in runs in the bottom. He doesn't have the speed that Iglesias has but his range and defense at short might shock a few people. 

This isn't surprising anyone as Farrell said this Drew would be the Sox starting shortstop no matter how hot Iglesias got at the plate. But suddenly there is a little pressure on Drew to produce right away with Iglesias hanging in Pawtucket waiting for another call up to the Majors. If Drew stumbles for the first week or so, Farrell will be getting asked a lot about what to do at shortstop. Hopefully, Drew starts strong and show why the Sox signed him. 

Globe: Boggs wants his number retired | Sellout streak coming to an end | Jon Rish quits WEEI | Herald: So far, Red Sox' offseason experiment looks good | Bad news for Iglesias | End of Fenway Park sellout streak at hand | CSNNE: Prognosis is good for Lackey after second opinion | Sellout streak likely to end | Bradley Jr. has a hole in his swing | WEEI: Don't sell Drew short | Prognosis for Lackey is good | Ortiz gets two hits, Morales throws an inning

Your Morning Dump...where Iglesias won't be in the Majors for long.

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

It is a luxury. It is not a controversy.

Jose Iglesias has been been a surprising early contributor to the Red Sox. But he remains, for now, a place-holder at shortstop. Stephen Drew is set to begin what is scheduled to be a four-game rehab assignment on Thursday with Double-A Portland, four weeks after he suffered a concussion when a fastball hit him squarely in the middle of his helmet.

Barring a setback, Drew likely will be activated next week, perhaps as soon as the Red Sox' home opener at Fenway Park on Monday. When he joins the big league team, Iglesias will head down to Triple-A Pawtucket. There's no gray area, no door ajar for the younger player to wedge himself into the Sox' lineup and to displace the veteran who signed a one-year, $9.5 million deal this offseason.

"We're certainly not going to take away from what Jose's done, but we signed a premium guy in the offseason to be our starting shortstop and we're not going to look at an injury to cause him to lose his job," said Sox manager John Farrell.

Why Iglesias' start won't alter Sox plans at SS

Damn. 

As a card carrying member of the Jose Iglesias fan club, this is disappointing to hear even if it was bound to happen. He's off to a hot start right out the gate, going 5-for-9 at the plate on top of his usual stellar play at short. But we all knew he was on borrowed time. Stephen Drew will be heading down to Portland to start his rehab stint and all signs point to him returning for the home opener on Monday.

Iglesias is continuing to evolve as a hitter. He looks more comfortable at the plate and it's amazing to see him be agressive with the bunts and use his speed to his advantage. One can only hope that he can continue to hit up in Toronto and at least make Farrell think twice about sending him down to AAA. Worst case scenario, Iglesias has a huge confidence boost and continues to work down in Pawtucket and prove he can be consistent at the plate. 

This isn't a knock on Drew either. When he's healthy, he can bring some pop from the left side of the plate and is able to hold his own defensively, which is why the Sox spent $9.5 million on him. But with the way Iglesias has played thus far, you can see why they only signed Drew for one year. 

Rest of the Links: Globe: Buchholz quiets Yankees | Ortiz, Drew making progress |  Jackie Bradley Jr. picks up a souvenir | Herald: Hot Sox two good for Yankees | 3-week plan for Papi | Victorino helping JBJ an example of changed team | Hard to believe this Yankee team | Dempster 'anxious' to take mound for Sox | CSNNE: Buchholz 'efficient' | Sox take second straight from Yankees, 7-4 | Ortiz may return in mid-April | WEEI: Sox, Buchholz get better of Yankees | Bradley Jr. collects first hit | Fenway opener possible for Drew's return

Ted's Army Season Preview Part One

Baseball is finally here. While Spring Training can hold people off, many are fiending for the season to start. We're right there with you. We look forward to the brutal grind of the baseball season. The braintrust behind Ted's Army came together and put out expectations for our beloved Boston Red Sox and how they would fair in the 2013 campaign. Without further ado... I give you part one of the Ted's Army season preview.

 

Who will pan out to be the best acquisition of the offseason?

Tucker Silva: Koji Uehara Pitched in the AL East for the Orioles in 2011 and had a career-low ERA of 1.72. Uehara will be the anchor of the Red Sox bullpen. Not a bad one-year signing of $4.25 million.

Nick Karalis: Jonny Gomes…I guess:  There was not one acquisition that I was even the least bit excited about, and I should go with no one. Though, if Gomes does get some playing time, he could be good for 15-20 homers and a somewhat decent .260 - .280 BA. I still think the Sox over-paid for him. 

Aaron Gettings:The player formally known as John Lackey.  I've said nothing but vile, terrible things about him since he donned that Sox cap.  But I'm prepared to pretend none of that ever happened.  It's a clean slate for he and I.  He won't let me down.

Ben Fountain: Koji Uehara. I've been smitten with this signing since Day 1. Incredible control, an absurd strikeout-to-walk ratio, can go multiple innings and is just as solid against left-handed batters as he is against righties. He will be the glue guy in the bullpen.

Scott Priest: I'm going to cheat a bit and say the best offseason acquisition was the one we didn't make: There was no panic move to get Josh Hamilton or Zack Greinke to get headlines. They also didn't trade out of any of their surpluses (catching, bullpen) when the value wasn't there, which is good.

Your Morning Dump... Where its time to prepare for life without 34

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The best-case scenario is that Ortiz’s injured Achilles’ stops hurting, he sprints without a care in the world, and the Red Sox ride his All-Star production deep into the heart of the pennant race.

That scenario seems less likely by the day, however. Ortiz, who takes great pride in not only the place he holds in the lineup, but in his ability to fill it, appears genuinely concerned. The pain appears every time he runs. The season is fast approaching. After six months of this, he’s having a hard time staying positive.

Those who’ve been around Ortiz for the last decade need only take one look at him to realize something’s wrong. The outgoing personality and larger-than-life clubhouse presence appear intermittently, but in small enough doses to serve as a reminder of what’s missing.

The clock is ticking, and the Red Sox will soon need to seriously consider Plan B.

Herald - Life without Ortiz creates domino effect

It seems like every Saturday I'm left to ring the Ortiz panic alarm.  Trust me, it's not a position I'm happy to find myself in.  We've progressed from fretting over the possibility of having to live life without him, to coming up with a concrete plan to deal with the scenario.

Before we really know how to deal with this, we have to figure out how long Ortiz is going to be out.  Does he just need a few more weeks of rest?  Is he going to have to go under the knife?  We don't know the answer to this question yet.  As of now, Boston isn't looking outside the organization to bring in a hitter to replace Papi.  That's the good news.

The bad news is we don't have a ton of bats we can plug into the lineup.  And certainly none that can produce at Papi's level.  Tomase throws a few scenarios out in his article.  One of the more intriguing (and, ultimately less likely) idea is using Gomes as the DH and slotting Jackie Bradley Jr. in left.  It would be exciting to see JBJ start the season in Boston, but he's yet to play above Double-A so it's a huge gamble, and it would also trigger his free agent eligibility a year earlier.  Not ideal for the Sox.

Beyond that plan, you're stuck with rotating players around the roster.  Or giving the job to Overbay or Carp.  Maybe giving Nava a shot?  Let Lavarnway start the year as the DH?  None of these alternatives are exciting.  But they are our reality. 

On a side note, I have seen some people on Twitter already complaining about re-upping Ortiz for two years this offseason.  They want him gone already, because he's having an injury setback. Ugh.  Just stop it with that nonsense.  I don't have the stomach to deal with that negativity already.

On Page 2, Surprise! JD Stephen Drew is injured!

Your Morning Dump...where the revolving door at SS may be closing

Matthew J. Lee/Boston Globe

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

We all know of the revolving door at SS for the Boston Red Sox, ever since Nomar Garciaparra was dealt back in 2004. However, the streak of plug-in shortstops may be coming to a close in the near future.

Twenty-four shortstops have started for the Red Sox since Nomar Garciaparra was sent to the Cubs in a three-team deal at the trading deadline of 2004. Julio Lugo tops the list with 245 starts, followed by Marco Scutaro’s 233, Edgar Renteria’s 153, Alex Gonzalez’s 150, Jed Lowrie’s 130, and Mike Aviles’s 129.

Drew will be No. 25 this year. But after that, Boston will have permanent shortstop options for the first time in years.

The biggest hope is the Aruban, Bogaerts, who consistently makes the top 100 prospects lists of those who compile such things. At age 20, he is already 6 feet 3 inches and 210 pounds. And the hype surrounding him has been uncomfortable at times.

Globe: Red Sox have no shortage of options at shortstop

The Red Sox starting SS in 2013 will be Stephen Drew. Three others in Jose Iglesias, Pedro Ciriaco, and Deven Marrero will compete for the backup job, with Xander Bogaerts being groomed in the minors.

Am I the only one who thinks the Drew signing went under the radar? Before his greusome injury on a collision at home plate in 2011, Drew was a solid ballplayer. He's not like his brother J.D., who has to take a day off when he stubs his toe.

Keep in mind, Drew was one of the vocal points in a horrendous Arizona Diamondbacks lineup. Now with the Red Sox, he's a complimentary piece. I think he could use that to his benefit and ease some pressure. Drew is going to surprise some people this year.

Iglesias should win out the backup SS job, even if he goes 0-35 at the plate in Spring Training. That's how amazing his glove his. I think the 23-year-old will here for a few years as a solid utility/defensive wizard. Don't expect his bat to drastically improve and compete for the starting job at any point in his career. He just doesn't have it.

Ciriaco and Marrero ultimately become trade chips. If another teams suffers an injury during Spring Training or simply has question marks for their backup SS, look for the Sox to dangle these two.

As for the future of the Red Sox SS, this very well could be the final year of the "stop-gap years". The highly touted Bogaerts is being compared to Hanley Ramirez, without the crap attitude.  Unless he struggles in the minors this year, the 20-year-old could very well be your starting SS in 2014, adding to the new young core in Cherington's plan.

Globe: Ellsbury on the future | Herald: Jon Lester's quotes baffling | Herald: Ellsbury's Sox future rides on big season | Projo: Lackey looks forward to starting over

Is Stephen Drew's contract that unreasonable?

Immediate reaction from Red Sox fans, myself included, was negative about Stephen Drew's deal. After all, $9.5 million sounds steep for a guy who suffered a massive ankle injury that disrupted his last two seasons (and who played poorly around that injury).

I've since read a couple of defenses of the deal (including Jonah Keri's at Grantland and Rob Neyer's at SBNation) that have helped reinforce the point that, as free agent deals go, this might not be the disaster it seems.

I looked around at shortstop contracts throughout MLB (all numbers courtesy Cot's) and found that Drew's deal doesn't look to be the outlier that it might seem originally. Below is a list of shortstops with 6+ years of service time (Drew is at 6.029, hence the cutoff there), along with their salary for next year rounded to the nearest tenth. 

1. Reyes, TOR ($10.0 next year; $18.4 AAV)
2. Tulowitzki, COL ($10.0 next year, $17.6 AAV)
3. Jeter, NYY ($17.0)
4. Ramirez, LAD ($15.5)
5. Rollins, PHI ($11.0)
6. Drew, BOS ($9.5)
7. Aybar, LAA ($8.8)
8. Furcal, STL ($7.5)
9. Hardy, BAL ($7.4)
10. Peralta, DET ($6.0)

Drew certainly isn't likely to be as good as those first four players, and probably not Jimmy Rollins either (although Rollins is in decline and was a 2.3 WAR player last year). Aybar is a speedy singles hitter who reached 4.0 WAR last year, Furcal is a veteran on a steep decline, and Hardy and Peralta are bat-first, defense-second guys with spotty histories. 

Then factoring in that you usually have to overpay on a one-year deal (as free agents typically want the security of extra years), and you can understand where the $9.5 million came from. 

Of course, this comparison essentially works only for free agents (or players who signed deals that bought out free agent years, like Aybar). So Drew's deal might not look that bad in this way, and may even prove justified in a vacuum if his ankle holds up and he can squeak out 2+ WAR.

The problem, as I mentioned yesterday, is that you can make the argument that Jose Iglesias and his $2.1 million salary could have provided more bang for the buck, even if he wasn't as good as Drew. And when you consider that this team is not likely to be a contender, it's worth wondering whether the Drew money could have been better spent elsewhere, either to extend young players or to set aside for a trade that can absorb money from another team.

Your Morning Dump...where Pedroia likes the Stephen Drew signing

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

"I'm sure we're signing Stephen to go out there and play," Pedroia said. "Iggy, I'm sure he understands that. He understands he needs to get better and there are things he needs to work on. I haven't talked to Iggy since we signed Drew, but that's a part of the game."

Pedroia dealt with a similar situation in 2006.

The Red Sox knew Pedroia would be a major contributor in Boston at some point, but the club realized he needed more time in the minors to hone his skills. So that offseason, the Red Sox traded for veteran infielder Mark Loretta to bridge the gap until Pedroia was ready.

"At first I was upset, but in the long run I think it helped me become a better player," Pedroia said. "I needed to go to Triple-A and learn, and it was the best thing for me. Things work out for a reason, and, hopefully, he uses that motivation to get better, to become smarter and to learn how to play the game better.

"He wants to learn and that's why everybody around thinks he's going to be a good one, because he wants to learn. I mean, he came from Cuba and he learned English in a year. He picks up things quick, and that's not easy. He needs to learn and he's definitely willing to do it. He came out to Arizona and worked his butt off for the three days I was with him. He's going to put in the time."

ESPNBoston | Dustin Pedroia likes what he sees

Nice to see some optimism on the Stephen Drew front, considering I was a little less enthusiastic.

I'm starting to think Jose Iglesias won't really be given a shot to start at short at the major league level. This is not to say that's unfair -- he hasn't progressed enough with the bat, for sure, to quell the hesitations about his offensive ability.

Meanwhile, the consensus best prospect in the Sox system, Xander Bogaerts has an ETA of 2014 (per SoxProspects). Iglesias certainly won't stand in the way of that. Even if he hits .300 at AAA, or Drew misses time and Iglesias plays well at the major league level, the Sox will want to see what they have in Xander. In his case, the offense is likely fine, it's the defense that the organization will be evaluating. And with Will Middlebrooks on the hot corner presumably for the next five or six years, there's even more pressure to make Xander work at short.

On a mostly-unrelated-but-troubling-enough-to-mention note: Matt Collins pointed out on Twitter that Pedroia, the apple of Red Sox Nation's eye, has played fewer games per season in his career than JD Drew, one of the more hated good players I can remember, did in his time in Boston. Collins unfairly included Pedroia's rookie season (31 games); if you take that out Pedroia averages 137.5 to Drew's 121. Nonetheless, is it a concern that our most important player misses 25 games per season? I say yes.

ESPNBoston | Drew will be bridge to future at SS | WEEI | JD Drew can feel Mike Napoli's pain | Globe | Sox sign the other Drew | Herald | Brother holds Drew to form

Your Morning Dump...where the new shortstop is an old name

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The Red Sox have an agreement with shortstop Stephen Drew on a one-year, $9.5 million deal, league sources told CBSSports.com.

The Drew signing will allow the Red Sox one more year to develop slick-fielding youngsterJose Iglesias. Drew's deal is pending a physical.

The Red Sox this winter have shown a willingness to pay high salaries in their free-agent deals so long as the length is reasonable. The one-year deal fits since Boston is well-stocked at the minor-league level with top prospect Xander Bogaerts as well as Iglesias.

CBSSports | Red Sox in agreement on one-year deal with shortstop Stephen Drew

Ugh.

This offseason had been going pretty well. The Sox picked up reasonably good players on short-term, reasonably priced (all things being relative) deals in Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino. They brought back David Ortiz and slightly overpaid for a backup catcher (David Ross) and top-notch reliever (Koji Uehara), who could be solid trade bait once they are floundering in July.

But what happened this last week?

Ben Cherington brought in Ryan Dempster, a starting pitcher who, while durable, has never proven that he can handle a competitive division. His short time in Texas was a disaster, and there's no reason to expect Fenway to treat him differently. 

Mike Napoli's deal looks like it might be on the rocks, thanks to some issues that may have come up in his physical.

Meanwhile, the Indians were able to exchange one year of Shin-Soo Choo for a great young starter in Trevor Bauer, and the Mets turned RA Dickey (pending an extension) into a solid haul headed by top catching prospect Travis D'Arnaud. Jacoby Ellsbury remains in Boston.

And now this. Nine and a half million dollars for a shortstop who never fulfilled his promise and is going into his age 30 season. Stephen Drew had three solid-to-good seasons for Arizona from 2008 to 2010, but since then has been unhealthy and ineffective. In 2011, he logged 86 games and was good for a 1.7 WAR; in 2012, he was good for 79 games and minus-0.6 WAR in time split between Arizona and Oakland.

To justify his price, Drew will have to be nearly 2 WAR better than Jose Iglesias. Make no mistake, Iglesias was not good last year. He produced 0.2 WAR (sticking with the same measurement, although I have my issues with WAR's effectiveness) in 25 games. Even playing at that same poor level, he'd be 1.2 WAR over a projected 150 games. Could we reasonable expect Drew to go over 3.0 when he's done so just once in his career, 2010, at age 27 (aka, most players' peak)? Drew is unlikely to stay healthy or produce at a level Cherington his hoping for due to his age and recent history; this Drew is not even as good as his brother, who was widely hated in the Fens. A better gamble would have been to hope Iglesias can figure it out at the plate and pass on Drew.

Meanwhile, the Sox' payroll continues to climb, and now looks likely to reach $150 million after arbitration is settled. That's an expensive 4th place squad.

Herald | Sox pin future on prospects | Globe | Report: Stephen Drew agrees to deal with Red Sox | CSNNE | Report: Red Sox agree to one-year deal with Stephen Drew | ESPNBoston | Red Sox to sign Stephen Drew